Because I Can… the random thoughts of Marc Scott

I took some time off from the blog.  It was partially intentional, and partially not, though I suspect one lead to, or, perhaps fed into, the other.  Yet, all the while this blog was sitting idle people continued to find it courtesy of my good friends at Google.  Part of me hopes they found what they were looking for.  Then again, with some of the keywords that lead them here… part of me hopes they didn’t!

Search Term: marc scott on 60 minutes
Search Engine: Google Norway
Blog Post: Blog Home Page
My thoughts: I’ve done a lot of things in my career.  I’ve hosted TV shows, I’ve done live radio, syndicated radio and I’ve done quite a bit of voice work as well.  I don’t ever recall appearing on 60 minutes though.  I’ll be really ticked off if I missed out on that.  I think it would be pretty cool.

Search Term: spoon in the butt
Search Engine: Google US
Blog Post: Ode To A Wooden Spoon (View It)
My Thoughts: So this particular blog post was about being spanked with a wooden spoon.  But nowhere in it do I recall talking about having said spoon inserted into the butt.  That’s uncomfortable to even think about.  What’s of even greater concern to me is what in the world somebody could possibly be looking for – and why – by performing such a keyword search!

Search Term: donation “World Vision”
Search Engine: Google US
Blog Post: Me (View It)
My Thoughts: I always used to be one of those guys that thought nice thoughts.  Good intentioned, I suppose would be the best way to describe it.  But my good intentions only took me so far.  We need to be people of action.  I tossed around the idea of sponsoring a child for years.  In the end it always came back to “I can’t afford it.”  Then one day I took a step of faith, and since that day a little over a year ago, I’ve never looked back.  More than that, I’ve never once struggled to make my $30/month sponsorship pledge. James 2:14-25

Search Term: texting and driving accident pictures
Search Engine: Google Canada
Blog Post: Texting & Driving (View It)
My Thoughts: I shared a video on this particular blog.  It was a very graphic public service announcement from the UK.  Shortly after I posted it, I noticed it popping up all over the internet in true viral video fashion.  Each and every person, teenagers and adults alike, that owns a cellphone and a drivers license should watch this video.

Search Term: “joshua p warren” “money making kit”
Search Engine: Yahoo US
Blog Post: Thoughts On The Throne (View It)
My Thoughts: I have to tell you, when I first saw this keyword I was quite confused.  I had no idea who Joshua P Warren was, and I sure as heck didn’t know anything about his money making kit.  I clicked on the blog post this search lead to and was quickly reminded.  ”Put this by your toilet and make money being a psychic in two weeks!”  If that’s not enough to make you want to read this blog, I don’t know what is!

Search Term: parents find out about car accident posted on facebook
Search Engine: Google US
Blog Post: Thursday June 26 2003 (View It)
My Thoughts: This keyword search made me laugh.  Sounds to me like somebody has something to hide!  I wonder what they thought when they read the blog post their search lead them to?  This one was definitely one of my more emotionally charged and personal posts.

Search Term: firefigher save cat
Search Engine: Google Latvia
Blog Post: No Glove No Love (View It)
My Thoughts: Yes I am a firefighter.  Yes I’ve saved a cat.  No it was not in a true.  Yes this is a true story!

Search Term: socks (in various keyword forms)
Search Engine: Google (several countries)
Blog Post: One Of The Toughest Things About Being A Firefighter (View It)
My Thoughts: In the last month there has been no less than 2 dozen people that have found my blog by searching for different terms involving the word socks.  ”Putting on socks” “Pulling up socks” “socks” “wearing socks” and the list goes on.  Each one of those crazy searches lead to this post.  I can’t believe how many people Google the word socks!

And finally…

Search Term: grandma was a firefighter
Search Engine: Google US
Blog Post: A Fireman’s Prayer (View It)
My Thoughts: How in the world this search ever lead somebody to my blog is beyond me, but it did.  This post is actually one that I didn’t write.  I printed a prayer that was shared with me years ago.  I think it’s cool though that somebody’s Grandma was a firefighter.

When I was growing up, Halloween was a pretty big deal at our house.  In fact, we had the coolest house in town.  People would come from neighbouring towns for the sole purpose of visiting our place.  They wanted to see what we had done, changed, or added this year.

We had stuffed dummies, all kinds of decorations, and an outdoor sound system cranking scary sounds and music that echoed down the street.  Dad would dress up as the Grim Reaper, and I would dress up as a stuffed dummy (keep your wise cracks to yourself thank you very much!)  We would scare the snot out of people all in the name of good fun.  And their reward for bravery was a bag of the most delicious homemade caramel corn you’d ever experience in your life.

Our set up was great.  I would sit, stuffed full of newspaper, in a chair inside the front door with the bags of caramel corn in a bowl on my lap.  I had a mask on, and, short of a full on close up inspection, nearly all were fooled as to my status of being alive or fake.  Kids – and parents – would walk through our front porch and into the living room.  As they would approach the chair where I sat, they’d stand very apprehensive about the whole deal.  Shouldn’t somebody hand them the candy? they’d wonder.  When they finally mustered up enough courage to reach into the bowl, I’d reach out, grab their arm, and watch the colour drain from their faces like somebody had just flushed their toilet.

It didn’t end there though.  When they would turn around to run for the safety of the sidewalk, they would run right into my dad, whom, dressed as the Grim Reaper, had snuck in behind them unnoticed while they tried to determine if they should reach for their own candy or not.

It was classic.  We were always careful of whom we did this to.  Obviously we weren’t so cruel as to play our game on very small children.  In the end, most were adequately terrified, satisfied with their carmel corn, and ready to return with their friends next year.  It wasn’t uncommon for us to see double, triple, or even beyond, the average number of trick or treaters that the rest of the homes in our community would see.

Another thing we always did that would impress people was our pumpkin carving.  There were no triangle eyes and jagged teethed jack-o-lanterns in our windows.  We would carve full out masterpieces that took entire afternoons of patience and precision to create.  When you’d look at the finished product sitting there on the kitchen table, you’d swear you had just wasted your entire afternoon.  But once you got a candle in it in the dark you could see the fruits of your labour.

I was surfing around on YouTube today and found a couple of videos that made me think back to those Halloween experiences as a kid.  One day maybe I’ll get to share similar experiences with my children.  Only this time around, maybe we’ll employ some different pumpkin carving techniques!

There are many things about me that make anything but a typical man.  For example, I have no problem putting the toilet seat down.  It doesn’t bother me, it’s not hard to remember, I don’t mind it at all.  I even live alone and I still put the toilet seat down.  How about this, if I’m lost – though it doesn’t happen often – I’m not opposed to stopping and asking for directions.  Seems to me like a better solution than mindlessly wandering around in who knows where on my way to who knows what.

The same thing, (the not typical man thing) applies to sports as well.  I don’t need to spend my Sunday afternoon watching 14 hours of football on 17 different channels.  When I go see a Jays game, I don’t paint my face blue, I don’t strap foam wings to my back, I don’t wear Blue Jays underwear on the outside of my pants, and there are no happy dances in on the street when they win.  That said, I’ve never actually been to a game when they’ve won, so I suppose I can’t say for sure… but I’m pretty sure.

One thing I’ve never been able to wrap my head around is the celebratory rituals of fans when their team wins the big game.  I simply don’t get it.  How does climbing a street light, flipping a taxi cab, setting dumpsters on fire, or participating in drunken shenanigans the likes of which you will not recall during your inevitable hangover the morning after, help make the victory taste sweeter?

When my team wins, I get excited.  I maybe do a little fist pump or send a quick thank you to God; though I don’t believe He spends much time impacting the outcome of baseball games.  Outside of that, I just enjoy the moment, and then move on with my life.  Maybe it’s because I’m not a diehard that I don’t truly understand or appreciate the celebrations of others.

For those of you that are diehards, or for those of you just looking to be amused, enjoy some video from the streets of Philly after their boys eliminated the Dodgers and advanced to the World Series.  My mom will be proud to know that she’ll never see me on the news in this fashion! :P

As a divorced man who has had nothing but unsuccessful attempts to return into the world of dating in the past 2 years, it would seem that when it comes to women, and more specifically relationships, I have much to learn.  I’m not opposed to working on this education.  I feel confident saying that God has taught me many things in the season that’s passed since my divorce.  I’ve reflected on things I did right.  I’ve reflected on things I’ve done wrong.

While looking for a file on my computer this afternoon, I came across a clip from my days in Peterborough.  I used to be the morning guy at KAOS 99.5.  This clip is from February 8 2006.  As I listened to it I confess, I laughed.  A lot.  To create a sense of context for the clip, it’s morning radio and I was goofing around trying to get a reaction out of my co-host.  Did I ever!  If only you could have seen her face.  Priceless!  Then one of the other girls in the station burst into the studio as well because she wanted to have her say.  It was probably one of those “had to be there” moments.  Nevertheless, I laughed.  I’m sarcastic like that.

Listening to this clip, and looking back on all that’s transpired in my life since, as in… divorce… it’s clearly evident that I should leave the Dr Phil stuff to Dr Phil and just stick with radio! :P

I don’t consider myself to be an emotional guy, although, the years, and to an extent, life,  have definitely softened me.  It’s not that I was ever hardened, or at least I don’t think I was.  I’m just definitely not one to wear emotion on my sleeve.

Part of that thick skin, I believe, is due to my experiences on the Fire Department.  I don’t think one would last for more than a day on the job if you let things really get to you.  You see too much.  Experience too much.  Pain, tragedy, loss, hurt, and then other times joy, relief and even humour; a spectrum of thoughts, sights, and emotions as vast as the clear blue sky.

For all the shows on television, there is only one – has only been one – that truly touches me each time I watch it.  In the span of 60 minutes my heart can break as the story begins and then leap as it ends.  My eyes can glisten with tears in one moment, and sparkle with joy in the next.  I ache from the depths of human tragedy and suffering, and then become inspired by a willingness and ability to move mountains that previously stood in the way of healing.

In my opinion, Extreme Makeover Home Edition is among the best that television has to offer simply for the fact that it’s not about me.  What I mean to say is, it’s not about self.  Television tends to be self oriented.  Game Shows about winning me big money.  Reality Shows about me winning a competition.  Sit-coms and Dramas about the pursuit of self gratification – success, wealth, sex – me… me… me.  Not me personally mind you, but me in the sense of self.

Extreme Makeover, on the other hand, is all about somebody else.  It’s about taking a tragedy, taking a loss, taking pain, taking struggles, and doing what otherwise may not be able to be done on our own.  Beating the odds.  It’s about families, friends, neighbours, and entire communities coming together for a common goal… to serve!  My heart warms just thinking about it.

I know the show has it’s critics, and I know some question it’s extravagance – though I believe it’s been toned down over the years – but all else aside, you can’t question the motives.  To change lives.  To help people.  To provide second chances.  To make the impossible, possible.  In it’s purest, simplest form… to serve.

Each week I watch the show and wish I could be a part of it.  What a joy it must be to volunteer with the show for a week.  This week, in the middle of a brutal Texas heat wave where the temperature never dropped below 100F, people kept their eye on the goal… to serve.  They cast aside their own comfort.  They worked through their own pain.  They gave their time, their effort, their energy, their blood, sweat and tears, and they did it, not for their own personal gain, but for somebody else.

This week at work somebody handed me the Future Shop flyer.  They know I enjoy browsing through it.  Wishful thinking mostly.  As the flyer was placed on the desk I joked that I shouldn’t be looking at it because it will just make me want to spend money.  The individuals response was, “well isn’t that why you work?  To make money so you can spend it on yourself?”

I thought a lot about that statement.  It made me a little sad, if I’m being honest, because it really is a reflection of the way so much of society thinks.  It’s all about me.  Things for me.  For my entertainment.  For my joy.  For my pleasure.  Sum up commom thinking in a single word… me.

It’s great to watch a show like Extreme Makeover Home Edition and be inspired.  We should be inspired!  But inspiration isn’t enough.  Thoughts are nice.  Words can be well meaning.  Actions, though, are real!  They’re love in motion.

I will likely never be on a team that builds a house in 7 days; but I could volunteer for Habitat For Humanity.  I will likely never solve world hunger; but I can make a donation to my local food bank.  I may never save a child from poverty; but I can sponsor one through World Vision.  I may never save a life; but I can touch one.

Do something this week for somebody else, with no expectation of return.  Do something that doesn’t invole “me”.

Balloon Boy.  The frightening cross county air ride nightmare of a family fearing for the safety of their 6 year old son.  Or… an elaborate hoax concocted in the mind of a scientist/inventor who spends his free time searching for signs of alien life.

I confess, I got caught up in the drama yesterday afternoon.  Mostly, because I work in radio and, being in media, I try and keep my audience informed with what’s happening in the world during my 4 hour shift each day.  I could use that as my excuse, but I’d be withholding the whole truth.  Professional reasons aside, personally, I was glued to my computer screen (between breaks of course) watching the giant balloon – that looked like something straight out of a MythBusters episode – sail across the Colorado sky.

It was one part Disney movie, and one part a parents worst nightmare.  While the story unfolded speculation ran rampant.  Was the boy in fact in the balloon?  Had the boy fallen out of the balloon?  Given the heights the balloon had reached, and the gases involved, would the boy be able to survive?

Then it landed and nobody was inside.  Almost in that instant, the world was consumed by doubt.  Doubt that the boy was ever inside.  Doubt that there was ever an emergency in the first place.  Doubt about the whole entire fairy-tale / sci-fi story.

I read an article today that posed an interesting question.  Has Reality TV left us jaded and suspicious?  The question, of course, was in response to the Balloon Boy story and how, as quickly was we learned he was not inside, our thoughts merged into one… hoax!

There always has to be a scapegoat, so it seems.  We need somewhere to place blame.  Someone onto whom we can pass the buck.  In this case, people are blaming Reality TV for causing us to doubt.  If I’m being honest, there are a lot of liars on Reality TV *cough* Jon & Kate *cough* but I don’t think that’s the explanation.

Do I have doubts about the legitimacy of this story?  Yes I do.  I have doubts because certain things just don’t add up.  Why wasn’t the balloon properly tethered?  Why is your 6 year old playing near it without supervision?  Why did you call a TV station helicopter before you called authorities?  Why did your boy, on national TV say, “you guys said we did this for a show.”

For these reasons I doubt.  Not because Reality TV has made me jaded and suspicious.  Rather, because we live in a fallen world and people lie.  They also tend to be self centered and self serving.  Has society itself, the very essence of today’s culture (that I disagree with by the way) not taught us to “Look out for number 1?”

The world breathed a collective sigh of relief when we learned that the boy was OK.  Then we breathed a collective sigh of frustration, as we all began to wonder if we’d been duped.  If this does in fact turn out to be a publicity stunt, then call it what it is.  A fallen man, who does not think beyond himself, taking advantage of a situation for personal gain.  But don’t blame Reality TV for making me jaded and suspicious.  As sad as it may be, people themselves, have left me suspicious.